Welcome to Saturday's Potluck

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

Post college I began regularly reading financial publications in addition to local, state and industry specific publications. Found it an effective use of time to keep up to date on shifting issues of society, foreign policy, politics and medicine. In my 20's I was offended to learn about new developments, updates and controversies of drug therapies in financial publications prior to reading in professional publications. Now I just accept it as part of the capture of medicine by financiers from medical practitioners. Get a heads up in the financial pages then go to medical literature for deeper understanding.

Diaries written at the beginning of C99 made it very clear my knowledge of Asia and worldwide military conflicts was weak. Asia Times became regular reading. The contributing authors backgrounds and viewpoints are varied. Slowly became familiar with the names, locations, histories and interrelationships of the various countries across Asia. Began to better understand how this effects my future and those I care about. Looking up maps for geographic locations and encyclopedias to sort out the frequent problem of name changes is no longer a regular occurrence.

The name changes of nation states break the chronological order of learned history acquired over our lives. For example, the current drama of political changes in Myanmar, protests and increasing violence between parties seem of minor relevance to past and future happenings in the United States. Until the old name Burma is used in research. Then it ties in with history of China's civil war between Republic of China (KMT - Kuomintang Troops) and Peoples Republic of China (communists), CIA, drug trade, Vietnam War, Korea Conflict and Afghanistan. The drug trade loop to fund CIA activities has been very effective. It is real simple illicit drug purchases help fund CIA operations.

American journalists and historians like to attribute the CIA’s Operation Paper, in support of Li Mi and the opium-growing 93rd Division in Burma, to President Truman’s authorization in November 1950, following the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 and above all the Chinese crossing of the Yalu River.78 But as historian Daniel Fineman points out, Truman was merely authorizing an arms shipments program that had already begun months earlier:

Shortly after the writing of the [April 1950] JCS memorandum, the United States began supplying arms and matériel to the [KMT] troops. [The Burmese protested in August 1950 that they had discovered in northern Burma an American military officer from the Bangkok embassy in Burma without authorization.79] In the fall, the . . . Office of Policy Coordination (OPC) drafted a daring plan for them to invade Yunnan. The CIA’s director, Walter Bedell Smith, opposed the risky scheme, but Truman [in November 1950] rejected his warning. . . . In January 1951, the CIA initiated its project, code-named Operation Paper. It aimed to prepare the Kuomintang (KMT) forces in Burma for an invasion of Yunnan.80

The futility of Li Mi’s military jabs against China was obvious to Washington by 1952. Yet Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) Chief Harry Anslinger continued to cover up the Li Mi-Thai drug connection for the next decade. The annual trafficking reports of the FBN recorded one seizure of distinctive Thai Government Monopoly opium in 1949 and on “several occasions” more in 1950. But after the initiation of Operation Paper in 1951, the FBN over a decade listed only one seizure of Thai drugs (from two seamen), until it began reporting Thai drug seizures again in 1962.81

Meanwhile, Anslinger, who “had established a working relationship with the CIA by the early 1950s . . . blamed the PRC [People’s Republic of China, as opposed to their enemy the KMT] for orchestrating the annual movement of some two hundred to four hundred tons of opium from Yunnan to Bangkok.”82 This protection of the world’s leading drug traffickers (who were also CIA proxies) did not cease with Anslinger, nor even when the FBN, by then thoroughly corrupted from such cover-ups, was replaced in 1968 by the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs and finally in 1973 by the Drug Enforcement Administration. As I write in 2010, the U.S. media are blaming the drug traffic in Afghanistan on the Taliban-led insurgency, but UN statistics (examined later in this book) suggest that insurgents receive less than 12 percent of the total drug revenues in Afghanistan’s totally drug-corrupted economy.

The economic melodrama of China triggering a worldwide recession has repeatedly been in the news for decades. One day it will probably be true. The current story is Evergrande.

Evergrande bubble popped in time: no Lehman moment
China stage-managed crisis for investment & social goals; US should've done similarly before 2008 Lehman shock

The Evergrande crisis will accomplish a set of objectives, senior Chinese officials told Asia Times.

First, it will stop the growth of dangerous leverage in the property sector, an objective that Chinese regulators signaled in 2020 with “red lines” for developer leverage and curbs on lending to the property sector. “It’s dangerous to pop a bubble,” one official said, “but even more dangerous not to.”

Second, it will bring down home prices, in keeping with the government’s theme of “common prosperity” and more equitable distribution of rewards. Soaring home prices, particularly in coastal cities and Beijing, have put home ownership outside the reach of lower-income Chinese.

Third, it will suppress inflation by reducing speculative building and demand for iron, copper, cement and other raw materials.

Fourth, it will help drain the political swamp in Chinese local governments, whose finances have depended on property sales. The cozy relationship between local officials and property developers encourages corruption and inhibits the central government’s efforts to modernize the tax system. “The real estate bubble arose through corruption,” one official commented.

Fifth – and most important – it will shift capital allocation toward high-productivity industries like manufacturing and away from construction, an inherently low-productivity occupation.

________

A few cold nights signals the end of the growing season. Been harvesting the last of the vegetables.

Stripped the summer squash blossoms to cook a delightful dish. Melted butter in the frying pan to just below browning, dredged blossoms in flower and then fried until browned on both sides. Next year I am planing extra squash plants just for blossoms, yum.

Small radish and lettuce leaves became bite size wrappers for tuna salad. Extra eggplant and cauliflower was packaged for the freezer. Zucchini sliced and dried to replace noodles in various dishes over winter. A few frost sensitive plants are being dug and potted to move into the sunroom for possible winter harvest.

The various garden stories and encouragement from C99 has expanded the crops I am growing. Hopefully your harvests or foraging at markets were successful and winter preparedness in place.

________

What is on your mind today?

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Comments

I like your suggestions about news gathering. I was always more interested in foreign news than domestic and would read The Christian Science Monitor among other publications, because it had good foreign coverage. That was a long time ago and I don't even know if it still exists. Der Spiegel and Le Monde are good sources. There are so many others out there that I never access. You are right, I will bookmark them to remind myself.

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studentofearth's picture

@randtntx related to health.
Spiegal News home page article COVID-19 precautions of Hermest Hair Transplant Surprise, Turkey has a medical tourism industry. More than a regional player in exporting military interventions.

Le Monde Patents prevent vaccines for all Originally published in April the obstacles of vaccine access remain the same.

And not least, a geopolitical obstacle looms. To use compulsory licenses is to engage in a showdown with other sovereign powers, especially the US, where the two companies that provide the best performing vaccines are currently located. Will France, Europe and other nations have the courage to face them down?
...
Conversely, the US has never had such qualms. After 9/11, when bioterrorists threatened it with pathogens like anthrax, it did not hesitate to brandish compulsory licenses as blackmail in order to produce the anthrax drug, ciprofloxacin, whose patent was owned by the German pharmaceutical company Bayer. The laboratory finally agreed to lower its price. The same country has drawn up a so-called ‘special 301’ blacklist of countries that do not respect the Intellectual Property Rights Agreement, including India (which produces generic versions of drugs still under patent), China and, for a time, Canada. Do as I say, not as I do!

The Christian Science Monitor already reached my monthly access limit.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

A heady mix of finances and drug dealing. Reads like a noir spy novel. Imagination sprouts wings when the CIA is involved. Also love the fried squash blossoms. Not sure how I learned it, but the practice started in my youth. Yumm.

Today will be building a Beef Bourguignon for a gathering tomorrow...

th_2.jpg

Enjoy your Saturday!

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studentofearth's picture

@QMS stop the strange stomach sounds. The picture you posted is causing fragrance flashbacks of Beef Bourguignon. Smile

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

I had squash blossoms in one of my compost bins (I know, neglected compost), and I intended to use the blossoms but then never did. I saw this recipe in a book called Simply Ancient Grains
by Maria Speck. It's a giant spelt pancake with squash blossoms. You cook it in a cast iron skillet like a frittata, which it resembles. It's basically spelt flour, egg, a bit of milk, herbs, cheese, and the squash blossoms pressed into the top.

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studentofearth's picture

@randtntx resupply of green matter.

Nice cookbook reference. This review modified her 5 ingredient Muesli recipe for one serving

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

@studentofearth , thanks for the link. She has a recipe for an orange citrusy salad dressing which I've been making with Meyer lemons just because I have those on hand. It's really good on salads and grains, especially quinoa. I'll hunt it down and post it in your next entry on Saturday. Thanks again for your OT.

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Lookout's picture

speaking of drugs and propaganda, did you catch this clip claiming pot made you puke?
Reminded me of reefer madness. (12 min)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7WCPvkPXFI]

I've been learning about China here at c99 from your past essays as well as Pluto's and CB's comments and insights. Pluto recommends this site, whose videos often come across my feed.
https://www.cgtn.com/ They have pretty good info about China.

Hope all is well on the homestead. We pulled our last 2 tomatoes yesterday. We've had 40's in the AM. A chilly stroll around trade day this morning. Bought a neat old scythe with a lovely hand carved handle. I don't understand why US scythes have nearly vertical oriented blades as compared to the European blades that lay horizontally.
https://www.onescytherevolution.com/index.html

To be honest it will be hung in the barn with the other antique tools, wheat cradle, froe, cross cut saw and so on.

Also bought some local apples.

Hope you are all having a nice fall. No rest for southern gardeners, cabbages, broccoli, collards, lettuce, and so on growing well. Sweet potatoes digging next month. Then manure and straw application. But for us we like having the chores...makes us get outside and enjoy this beautiful weather.

Have a great weekend and thanks for the OT!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout mid seventies, sunny, gorgeous. Summer flowers blooming.

Lookout and Raggedy Ann, this one's for you: I finally found a way that I could enjoy kale and it should have been obvious.

I'm sauteeing it, with sliced onions, minced garlic, sliced red peppers, and halved tiny tomatoes, seasoned with crushed red pepper flakes.

makes a gorgeous accompaniment to my sauteed salmon.

This pandemic has forced me to cook more that I ever would have since I am alone, becuse the choice was second rate prepared foods from places that do not seem to know what good food tastes like----Whole Foods, I'm looking at you----- and the skillful restaurants and small delis with acceptable offerings have either closed or have so few customers that the freshness of their food is in question.

So, I have become an enthusastic cook at this very late date.

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NYCVG

enhydra lutris's picture

@NYCVG

fairly short lengths and add it to many soups, stews and red sauces without ruining them.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris better be very narrow slices----those stems are nasty.

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NYCVG

enhydra lutris's picture

@NYCVG

both curly and lacinto kale.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

studentofearth's picture

@NYCVG the skillful restaurants and small delis created new cooking challenges for when I returned home. Add advancing cooking skills with a few very fresh ingredients it is hard to go back to casually stopping at restaurants for microwave and serve food.

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6 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

studentofearth's picture

@Lookout Most inhalers for breathing problems in a very small number of patients can cause increase in asthma symptoms or worsening of COPD. Sometimes related to a physical response of inhaling a powder. Patient may tolerate the medication in solution using a nebulizer. Sometimes it is a metabolic reaction to the medication and a different medication is necessary.

I was told once how to become a regular on the medical speaking circuit. Do a small study to about a commonly known problem. Get a paper published. Should be able to turn it into 4 to 7 years of lectures with free meals and travel. Then need to repeat the process.

CNN certainly did create a feeling of impeding disaster of marijuana legalization. Here is better explanation of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome in a 2011 article at the National Institute of Health (NIH)

THC accumulates largely within body fat which serves as a long-term storage site for the drug [20,22]. This characteristic partially explains its prolonged elimination half-life. A large reservoir of stored THC in fat tissue may produce a “reintoxication effect” secondary to increased lipolysis during times of increased stress or food deprivation [23]. These characteristics of THC may have implications in Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome as these patients are chronic users of cannabis who likely have large lipid stores making them susceptible to increased cannabinoid levels in the plasma during times of stress.
...
Two case series and numerous individual case reports have been published on Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) (Table 1). Patients present with recurrent episodes of nausea, vomiting, and dehydration with frequent visits to the emergency department. [6,51–62]. Patients are typically young adults with a long history of cannabis use. In nearly all cases there is a delay of several years in the onset of symptoms preceded by chronic marijuana abuse
...
It has been proposed to divide CHS into three phases: pre-emetic or prodromal, hyperemetic, and recovery phase
...
In clinical practice CHS is most often confused with cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS). In fact patients with CHS are often mislabeled as having CVS and vice versa.
...
he precise mechanism by which hot bathing produces a rapid reduction in the symptoms of CHS is unknown. It has been proposed that hot bathing may act by correcting the cannabis-induced disequilibrium of the thermoregulatory system of the hypothalamus

Any drug used to treat Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome would be an "Off Label Use." There are FDA approved drugs for symptom control which could be used to effectively minimize symptoms. Once a complication is identified there are FDA approved drugs for such issues as dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.

Found some antique scythe in the barn. Played with them a little, but they need sharpened. One Scythe Revolution site and youtube channel has some great info on techniques and tool care. Thanks

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

CB's picture

The Australian media are reporting as if it is.

Even The Atlantic speaks of a New World Order in the making.

Joe Biden’s New World Order
The United States has allied with Britain and Australia to form a new anti-China grouping.
September 16, 2021

A new world is beginning to take shape, even if it remains disguised in the clothes of the old.
...
In his statement last night, Biden, while far from being particularly eloquent, set out a vision for a “free and open Indo-Pacific”—in other words, one free of Chinese domination. According to a U.K. official I spoke with, this concept first emerged in Japan and has since been adopted by Australia, another Pacific power that has felt pressure from Beijing. It also fits in with Britain’s own stated pursuit of a peaceful and open international order, as set out in its strategic review this year, which is the centerpiece of Johnson’s foreign-policy vision. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, said the move “seriously undermines regional peace and stability,” and the country’s embassy in Washington accused Britain, Australia, and the U.S. of having a “Cold War mentality.”
...
For those in the U.S. concerned about the country’s imperial overreach, news that it has signed up to yet another alliance in defense of areas of the world far from its shores may seem like a nightmarish déjà vu, just as the argument for strategic retrenchment appeared to be winning following America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
...
But what last night’s announcement also reflects is the need to shore up a world order that has been left to wither after 20 years of complacency, hubris, and imperial overreach that Brexit and Trump’s election revealed as much as caused. The decision to invite Beijing into the world economic system in 2001 has not led to anything like the more liberal or democratic China that world leaders had envisaged, only a more powerful and more draconian adversary that has grown and grown while the U.S. and its allies (including Britain and Australia) were distracted in the Middle East and Afghanistan. In effect, the U.S. is having to adapt to the new world of Chinese power in order to protect the old “free and open” world of global trade and American supremacy that Washington built after the Second World War.
...
Taken together, the end of the war in Afghanistan, the pivot against China, and the prioritization of the old Anglo alliances over the EU are all grand strategic moves. “When you make grand strategic moves,” the British official said, “you piss people off.”

The new military alliance to contain Beijing’s rise looks, then, at first glance, like a reassertion of the old order, but it is really one of the first murmurings of a new one taking its place.

Here's a recent documentary from Australia:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA2KaEKs1LA]

And a response:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od6Js490cWI]

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@CB but I am thinking of it more as a propagnda war intended to continue, enlarge and justify our outrageously high Pentagon and "Intelligence" services, while homelessness and hunger and illness spread across the American population.

The UK has little to no capacity to wage war, while France has an impressive Navy and even a few remaining outposts of their defunct Empire in the Indo-Chinese region.

If I were preparing for War with China, my (admittedly limited) understanding means that I would pick France, not England as my ally. Uk is barely functioning at the moment. Food and fuel shortages, Brexit karma, etc.

Australia otoh has become the tip of the spear to form a more authoritarian racist society and we are happily planting military bases North South East and West with a giant somewhat mysterious surveillance post in the middle of the continent called Pine Gap.

I think the goal is Profit from military expansion with increasing disregard for the people who live in the USA. Even the dimmest bulb in DC has to know that China Russia and their alliances will crush us if we actually oppose them.

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NYCVG

CB's picture

@NYCVG
This is propaganda FOR war and it has gone far, far beyond just propaganda.

I do not know if you viewed the video so I'll direct you to at least view this video starting with a comment by Brian Berletic (ex US Marine Corps) where the group discusses that fact:
[video:https://youtu.be/od6Js490cWI?t=8924]

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studentofearth's picture

@CB I will watch later today. I have started a diary regarding the subject and will try and finish shortly. Unfortunately your presumptions on the relationship between the two countries is probably accurate. 10 days ago Xi refused the offer of a face to face meeting requested by Biden. Both countries are preparing their citizens and supply lines.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

@CB @CB like others from these guys, Brian and the host, is chock full of accurate info about out what we are doing.

I agree with their points and yours about the banging of the drums of war. It IS just like the run up to our previous useless misadventures, which failed except in bringing extreme profits to our wealthy corporations and Military.

Where I diverge, is that I believe that somebody in power has to know that China does not have to play any hand the USA deals. WE want a limited controlled war. China just might decide to shut down our electrical grids instead. Or our cyber world. Or something else that will disable our military activity.

China can produce what it needs and we no longer can. That is a crucial difference.

This is an asymmetrical situation if there ever was one. Frightening the population and threatening a renewal of the draft may be more in aid of attaining growing control over our population.

Or you could be right and I am living in a naive dream world. It would not be the first time that I've chosen hope over experience.

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NYCVG

mimi's picture

to my old neighboorhood in Greenbelt, MD. Yep, yep, indeed I am, because they have in their 'New Deal Cafe' at the Roosevelt Center their Greenbelt Blues Festival today. I enjoyed the 'New Deal Cafe' back in the days, when I still lived there, so I thought I tell you about it for those who live close to Greenbelt MD. (Not far away from the National Archives in College Park)
Greenbelt Blues Festival 2021
I remember B.B.King playing live on their little stage.

So may be those who live close might enjoy some Blues today.
Have fun.

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studentofearth's picture

@mimi past festivals. The festival Facebook page list the artists performing today.

A few selections from past performances.

Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Ensemble
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK0r8hrflJQ]

Dar Stellabotta from today
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfpxNXDjaKs]

Dirty Soul
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NLG0MjqZ5Y]

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

mimi's picture

it is like a cliffhanger crime story. Ok, it won't be earth chattering, but good entertainment for sure. I am going to vote tomorrow. This is only the second time in my life ... not that I wouldn't have wanted to vote in the US, but you know those foreign people like me could mess up the results in ... Texas ... or ... California. That can't be allowed.

Sigh. I am no fan of popcorn, but I think this time I need some. Smile

Have a good Sunday, all.

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mimi's picture

@mimi
truth about our candidates:
Bundestagswahl 2021

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enhydra lutris's picture

seemingly lost a comment asking if, given that you discussed the CIA in Asia/SE Asia, you by any chance noticed that the nearest relatives of the SARS-COV-2 aka Covid-19 virus were found in bats and bat caves in Laos. One news source was quick to call Laos "China's Neighbor" due the the tiny border they share.

I'll just post this before I lose it again

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

studentofearth's picture

@enhydra lutris Institut Pasteur du Laos has a level 3 biosafety lab in Laos. The page describing their COVID work emphasizes Laos boarders Yunnan, China.

Furthermore, with the arrival of the China-Lao high-speed train from Vientiane, Lao PDR to Kunming, China (to open 2021) wildlife trafficking could increase in the future. Despite strict bans on wildlife trafficking and reinforced enforcement at border crossings, wildlife trafficking will certainly continue because of the deep Chinese cultural beliefs that wild animal consumption for food and medicine brings the body strength, stamina and medicinal cures. Furthermore, the lucrative nature of trafficking and the traditional idea that “animals live for man” strongly indicate that China’s appetite for wildlife is likely to survive the COVID-19 epidemic (Master and Yu Reuters News Agency, 17 Feb. 2020)!

There is also a reference to a February 2019 article published in Virus by 4 authors from The University of Hong Kong. Global Epidemiology of Bat Coronaviruses mentioning presence of spike proteins and ACE2 receptors.

Fourthly, survival fitness of CoVs in the environment determines the chance of successful spillover events. CoVs are enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses with surface spike protein projection. A high genomic mutation rate allows CoVs to evolve, and leads to high diversity with potential for host receptor adaptation [4,5,7,70]. However, the presence of viral lipid envelopes renders CoVs sensitive to environmental conditions such as desiccation, heat, extreme pH, UV light and presence of detergents [71]. Prolonged exposure to unfavorable natural environments leads to rapid viral decay and loss of infectivity [71,72,73]. Therefore, the particular location of viral shedding events and relevant environmental condition should be taken into account when predicting the potential of interspecies transmission.
Finally, to ultimately complete the spillover chain, susceptible recipient hosts need to be present within the viral shedding area. Host susceptibility mainly depends on the availability of specific receptors on recipient tissue to interact with the spike protein of CoVs for viral entry. The receptor profile of several CoV species has been well studied, for example angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) for SARS-CoV and

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.